


Hell's Gate

by apokfan (writing1swat)



Series: The Last Defense [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action, Adventure, Angel!Castiel, BAMF Castiel, BAMF Winchesters, Canon deaths, Dark, Gen, Lucifer!Sam, Michael!Dean, Supernatural - Freeform, non graphic torture, soldier!Castiel, soulless!dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-02-24
Packaged: 2018-01-12 18:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1195452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing1swat/pseuds/apokfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part <strong>2</strong> of The Last Defense<br/>AU to season 4 and beyond<br/>As Dean Winchester gets closer to his destiny, Sam Winchester heads down a dark road. Castiel starts to question if his orders ever came from God. And Bobby realizes this thing is much bigger than anyone could imagine.<br/>Soulless!Dean, eventual Michael!Dean, Lucifer!Sam</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had to put this back up with changes in the torture scene because I just realized it's not supposed to happen yet if I want to keep to the timeline. Thanks Eclipse for pointing that out. That was a minor mistake on my part. Here it is revised.
> 
> To anyone that hadn't read part 1, please do, because this picks right up from the end. If you read this with the torture scene in it, please reread it because I replaced that scene. Thanks, guys.

“Dean–“

“I said. Let’s. Go. Sam.” Dean shoved past Sam out the room.

“You’re making the right call,” Uriel said behind them.

Sam stopped to scowl at the angel. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot as far as he was concerned. “We’re not leaving just yet,” he fumed. Sam knew how he sounded just then, like a whiney little brat of a child trying to get his way. But there were people’s lives at stake here. Couldn’t anyone see that?

“Leave,” Castiel said.

“No,” Sam said jutting his jaw and standing rigid still. “Smite the town, smite us. And you need Dean, right? That’s why you pulled him out of Hell in the first place.”

“This isn’t your call to make,” Castiel said with a sigh.

Sam crossed his arms standing his ground. He wished Dean would get his ass back here and back him up. He used to do that. Dean used to back his little brother up. “You’re taking orders from my brother?” Sam asked incredulously. It was almost laughable that ‘Dad’s soldier’ would have angels at his beck and call.

“That’s none of your concern, mud monkey,” Uriel said, matching Sam’s glare with his own. “Right now you should do what your big brother said and get out while you still can. We may need him, but we certainly don’t need you.” He stepped right in Sam’s personal space.

Sam swallowed, backing a step to put some distance.

“Uriel,” Castiel warned his partner.

Uriel stepped back but was clearly unimpressed by Sam’s reaction.

“Samuel, your brother’s destiny is bigger than all of ours,” Castiel told him.

Sam didn’t understand what the angel meant. All he knew then was that he had to find his brother. Dean was waiting for him in the Impala. Sam stalked over. “Dude! We can’t freaking leave.”

“Sure we can. If you’d shut up and hop in right now, we can make it out back to Bobby’s before nightfall.”

Sam shook his head. “Can you even hear yourself? We’re just gonna leave and let all these people die?”

Dean sighed. “It’s just a thousand people, Sam.”

“’Just a thousand people’? That’s a freaking lot of people, Dean!”

“Not compared to six billion,” Dean responded. “You have to look at the bigger picture.”

“The ‘bigger picture’? Are you kidding me? Since when were you a ‘bigger picture’ kind of guy?” Sam asked. “Since when did we sacrifice people for the ‘greater good’?”

“Since now, since the freaking Apocalypse. Like it or not, Sam, we’ve got angels and demons down our asses and we’re gonna be making decisions that affect everyone.” Dean tilted his head. “It’s not about us anymore.”

Sam suddenly felt a chill run up his spine. “What are you saying?” he asked hesitantly.

“It used to be just about us. It used to be just about two brothers on a road trip hunting ghosts and demons.”

“Isn’t it still like that?” Sam asked. “We’re still brothers, man.”

Dean shook his head and sighed. “We are,” he conceded. “No one can change biology. But it’s not about just us anymore. This is much bigger, Sam.”

“Much bigger,” Sam repeated. 

“Yeah,” Dean said. “If you can’t get with the program–”

“Dude, wait a minute, please, just.” Sam didn’t care that he sounded desperate right now. “I mean I know we haven’t seen eye to eye on things lately but you sound almost like…”

“I sound almost like what?”

“Like you’re giving up on…on us,” Sam said. Please let him be wrong. Dean wouldn’t do this to him. He knew how much Sam needed his big brother. Please, please, please–

“You’re right. I think it’d be for the best if we went our separate ways for a while. Because you’re kinda just holding me back, Sammy.”

 

 

**One month later**  
 **Indiana**

Bobby Singer was sitting at the bar with Rufus. After putting down a couple rogue vamps, Bobby decided to treat them to a few beers. He downed the beer and asked for a refill when Sam decided to show up. These days, Bobby didn’t have any expectations of the boy. He hadn’t seen much of Sam lately. He sighed, wishing he could say he was surprised by the boy’s change, but honestly, Bobby didn’t blame Sam’s withdrawal. It was only a month ago that his own damn brother dumped him on the side like a lump of meat. If Bobby even knew where that kid went, he’d have gone and gave Dean a piece of his mind. It was probably just as well that he didn’t know a damn thing.

“Hey, Bobby, sorry I’m late. Did I miss much?” Sam asked as he came to sit beside the men.

Rufus snorted. “Only a few vamps. Ain’t much of your time though, huh? Small fry compared to what’s…really out there.”

Sam shook his head as the bartender slid a glass over. “I’m, uh, sorry I missed the hunt.” He glanced to Bobby. There was a dimness in Sam’s eyes that Bobby wished he didn’t have to see. He looked down at his empty beer glass. Sam cleared his throat after a moment. “That’s not why I came here though.”

“No?” Rufus asked intrigue in his voice.

Bobby couldn’t help but look up as well. “What you got for us, Sam?”

Sam sighed and took a sip of his glass, wincing as the alcohol burned down his throat. “Ruby found something…interesting.”

Bobby didn’t miss the flinch that came from Rufus at the mention of Ruby. It wasn’t much secret that Sam was never made to be alone. He had to replace his brother with someone, in this case, something. Bobby was getting used to this arrangement. He didn’t agree with it but he learned a while ago that if Sam set his mind to something, he was amazingly a lot like John Winchester. Stubborn as a goddamn bull. Not a very good trait to have sometimes. But it worked for Sam.

Whereas Bobby knew most of the story between the Winchesters and the impending apocalypse, Rufus was barely caught up. He knew as much as he wanted to though.

“Well go on, son,” Bobby urged when Sam made no move to hurry on his story.

Sam ran a tired hand through his hair. Kid definitely seen better days, Bobby decided. All of them did. “She caught word the demons are after someone,” Sam said. “Someone that recently escaped from a psychiatric ward.”

Bobby mulled over that. If the demons wanted someone, chances were it was in their best interest not to let them have that person. Even if it was a damn crazy. He sighed as Rufus turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. “Hear that, Bobby? Sounds like we got us some big fish to fry now. ‘Bout damn time if you ask me.”

“No one asked ya,” Bobby grumbled.

“So we’re going?” Sam asked perking up.

“Yeah. Just lead the way, boy.”

“Yes, sir!” Sam practically sprung out of his seat before either hunters could move. He paused half way to the door before he turned with a sheepish grin. “I hope you, uh, don’t mind…I kinda, well, jacked a car.”

Bobby stared incredulously at the kid’s face for a moment before shaking his head. “Damn idjit.”

 

 

**A psychiatric ward**

“Anna…do you know where you are?”

Anna sat on the edge of the bed looking down at the floor. If she ignored the woman sitting in the chair long enough…

“You’re at the Connor Beverley Behavioral Medicine Center. Do you know why you’re here?”

Anna nodded not trusting herself to speak. She wasn’t supposed to be here.

“Do you remember what you did? You were hysterical. It took four people to restrain you.”

Anna looked up finally. “I…was trying to warn them.”

“Warn who?”

“Everyone.” Anna wanted to say more but she remembered what happened the last time. She shivered and said, “Forget it. It was stupid.”

“What were you trying to warn them about?”

“Look…I get it. You think I’m nuts. If I were you, I’d think I was nuts but it’s all true.”

The woman smiled gently at her. Like she was a scared, cornered animal. Anna hated her for smiling at her like that. “It’s okay.” Lies. “You can tell me. I’m here to listen.” More lies.

“The end is coming,” Anna said. “Lilith will break the sixty six seals and free Lucifer and Lucifer will bring Hell on earth.” Anna closed her eyes and listened to the angels whisper. “Heaven is in disarray now. Half wants to rebel and follow Lucifer while the other half don’t know where to stand.” Anna opened her eyes again to see the woman staring at her. “There are still good angels, but it won’t matter,” Anna whispered, believing every word that came to her ear. “We’re all going to die.”

 

In a little while all hell would break loose and Anna Milton would find herself making the news as an escaped patient. Sam, Bobby and Rufus would find her in an empty warehouse with her sanity very well intact.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My internet is acting wonky today. I've no idea why.

Anna Milton wasn’t a normal human. Sam should’ve realized it from the moment they found her sitting alone in a church. Her head was bowed down, her hands clasped together, like she was praying. For a long moment, Sam froze at the entrance of the church. Bobby and Rufus shoved in past him. Sam stumbled forward from the motion.

“Is that you, Sam? Sam Winchester?” Anna asked and Sam realized belatedly Anna had finished. She stood up and turned to face them. 

She looked young, Sam thought. “You know me?”

Anna smiled faintly. “You’re sort of the talk of the town,” she replied and pointed heavenward.

Sam looked up. “Anything good?”

He knew the angels seemed to hate him. He wasn’t sure why he was disappointed when Anna just looked at him sadly and shook her head. “Sorry, Sam,” Anna said and Sam could see that Anna sincerely meant it. He just wasn’t sure why.

 

 

It wasn’t for another two days before he found out why he felt odd around Anna. Anna was an angel. She fell and lived as a human but now she had her grace back and she was an angel again. Sam’s whole world spun. He stumbled outside, needing a breather. He wished he could put the whole apocalypse on pause for a moment. The lines were beginning to blur into each other until Sam couldn’t recognize where one began and the other ended.

Anna found him outside Bobby’s house in the junkyard. Sam liked being at Bobby’s. It reminded him of Dad and Dean and earlier, simpler times. Sometimes if he just closed his eyes he could swear he’d hear his Dad’s voice, ‘Sammy, get in the car. We got to go now. Come on, son, your brother’s waiting for us. You’re not gonna make him wait, are you?’

And he’d almost respond back, ‘No, sir’.

“Sam? Bobby told me you’d be out here,” Anna said standing awkwardly next to the truck Sam was sitting in.

He blinked and sat up. Sam climbed into the back of a pickup truck earlier. “Hey, Anna,” he murmured.

“I uh just wanted to thank you guys,” Anna said looking down at her bare feet.

“What for?” 

“For helping me find my grace,” Anna answered serenely.

“It’s no problem,” Sam said then tilted his head in thought. “Would this make it easier for the demons to find you?”

Anna bit her lip and nodded. Sam could tell she had a lot on her mind. “Angels too. Actually that’s what I came to talk to you about, Sam. Now that I have my grace back, I’m going back to Heaven. The demons can’t follow me there.”

Sam frowned. “You just said the angels want you too. Won’t angels be swarming Heaven?”

Anna smiled at Sam. “That’s the beauty of Heaven. It’s not one big place where every angel can see each other. It’s a crossroad of every place you can imagine.”

“Sounds nice,” Sam offered. And it did.

Anna didn’t reply. She slowly reached out to Sam and gently caressed his face. Sam leaned into the touch. “I’m sorry I can’t help you anymore. But I promise I’ll come back as soon as I can, Sam.” She sighed softly and Sam let them stay like that for a minute. “I know most the angels see you as an abomination and your brother the hero that’ll lead Heaven to victory, but I just want to let you know that I believe God created free will for a reason. We’re not bound to our destinies, no matter what anyone else says.”

“Is that what the apocalypse is about? Destiny?” Sam asked. “And when you mentioned Dean and the angels…does that mean my brother is with them right now?” 

Anna reluctantly pulled back. Sam blinked missing the contact. “I wish I had all the answers, really I do. But I’ve got to go now, Sam. Just promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t give in.”

Before Sam could ask what she meant by that, Anna was already gone.

 

 

For a week everything was quiet. No word from Anna. No traces of Dean. Nothing of Castiel. Sam spent most his days taking hunts with Bobby and occasionally Rufus would be there with them. For a little while Sam could pretend the world was fine.

It wasn’t until the middle of March that everything seemed to come to a screeching halt.

 

 

**Greybull, Wyoming**

People were cheating death. A guy that was shot in the heart just got up like it was nothing. Sam knew this case was a big one. It had seal written all over it.

Bobby and Pamela tagged along.

“Well ain’t this just a damn freak show,” Bobby grumbled as a kid picked himself back up after getting hit by a van.

Sam stared around with a mix of horror and shock. “It’s like we stepped into a cartoon.”

Bobby shook his head and groaned, “I really hope we didn’t.”

“On the bright side of things, at least we won’t die,” Pamela said as another car sped by like it was a part of a derby race. “With the way these folks drive ‘round here…”

“People are taking advantage of the fact that everyone seems to be immune to death,” Sam said.

“Probably,” Bobby grunted. “C’mon. Let’s go see if we can’t get to the bottom of this.”

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah.”

They talked to a man that had terminal cancer. He thought it was a miracle by God. Sam wanted to laugh at that. God was just sitting on his ass while angels and demons started the apocalypse down on earth. God didn’t care. Sam was starting to realize he was slowly losing faith in all this. It was a sad realization. 

“I’ll tell you one thing for damn sure, and that this isn’t the work of God,” Bobby said back at the motel.

Sam agreed, “They sure think so though.”

“I can only think of one thing that could put nature out of whack like this.”

“What is it?” Sam asked.

“Ever heard of Reapers?” 

In an instant Sam was hit by a memory of Dean hospitalized. Dean and Dad and Sam after the accident. Sam had been so sure he’d lose his brother, just like that. He almost wished Dean had taken the out that day. Then he wouldn’t have suffered in Hell. But he wondered what was worse? Heaven or Hell? Because sometimes Sam found he couldn’t tell the difference between an angel and a demon.

“Yeah, we’ve…Dean and I ran into a few in the past,” Sam said.

“Well what if there’re no reapers here? What do you think will happen to all the people that are supposed to die?”

“I see what you’re saying. Death literally left the building, huh?”

“More like death’s taken a little holiday,” Bobby said.

“It makes sense. If no one’s here to reap, no one dies,” Sam said.

Bobby nodded. “Yeah. Basically.”

“Great. So we’ve basically got our own little ‘Walking Dead’ movie going in this town. Okay so here’s an ugly question. What could cause all the reapers to take off?”

Bobby sighed and sank down into a nearby chair. He looked like he could use some hard liquor. Sam did too. “Your guess is as good as mine at this point.”

Sam frowned and thought back to the kid in the paper. Cole Griffith was the last to die in this town. Sam snapped his fingers catching Bobby’s attention instantly.

“What is it?”

“Remember the papers? Cole Griffith was the last person to die here. If Death’s out taking a stroll elsewhere, then I’ll bet his ghost is still hanging around somewhere. We’ll talk to him and see if he knows anything,” Sam explained.

Bobby nodded, stroking his beard in thought. “It’s a start at least.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I found a band I'm going to listen to all the time while I write from now on (Imagine Dragons).

**One week ago**  
 **Heaven**

Anna didn’t have much time before Uriel found her. She had to find Castiel before it was too late. Anna knew all about the breaking of heaven. Angels were taking up sides now. Heaven was losing in a battle they thought they stood a chance in and everything seemed to lead back to Dean Winchester. 

He was the vessel of the great Archangel Michael. He’d lead them all to victory and earth would know peace. That was what most of the angels were hoping. But Anna also knew things that most didn’t, that some of their brethren wanted Lucifer to walk out of his cage and win. They wanted to see Michael fall.

Anna wasn’t one of those angels though. She didn’t care about age old prophecies and destinies waiting to be fulfilled. As a human she didn’t have it in her to believe that someone’s future could be preplanned, set in stone before they were even born. Even as an angel she couldn’t believe in that. 

Because every person, every angel and demon, animal were created with free will. Not the illusion of it, but real, true free will.

She had it, every one of her brethren had it, the Winchester brothers certainly had it also. Anna had to find Castiel before the others found her. Because it was no secret in Heaven that Castiel and Dean Winchester shared a connection. If she found Castiel, she’d find Dean. And Anna needed to find Dean to stop him from fulfilling his destiny. 

Anna heard the flutter of wings behind her and whirled around. “Hello, Anna,” Zachariah greeted. “Boy, were you a hard one to find. I mean what kind of angel lets herself fall on purpose?”

“The kind that got tired of being your lapdog,” Anna said standing her ground. “I know what you’re trying to do, _brother_.”

“Oh this should be good. Do tell. I’m all ears.”

Anna looked around warily as Uriel appeared next to Zachariah. The two angels she really didn’t want to see right now. Of course. “You’re planning an uprising.”

Zachariah stared at her for a moment and Anna felt her heart begin to race. She had to get out of here. Then Zachariah burst into a fit of laughter and Uriel smirked. Zachariah nudged the angel next to him and said, “And they said you’re the funniest angel in the garrison. Obviously no one met Anna.”

Uriel raised an eyebrow. “You obviously haven’t heard me at my best then,” he deadpanned. He gave Anna an appraising look. “You realize how ridiculous your accusation is, don’t you? We’re in a war, girl. Why would any sane angel plan an uprising in Heaven?”

“It’s not really ridiculous,” Anna argued. “Not when you know most of Heaven will be focused on the seals. We’re losing. Lilith is going through the seals like nothing. That’s not a secret. But you have to wonder…why the seals are being broken so easily now when it’s been our job, Heaven’s job, to protect them.”

“It’s a lot of seals to protect,” Zachariah reasoned.

“There’s 600 seals. You think we can manage to protect every single one of them along with fighting the demons that managed to get out of the Pit?” Uriel added.

Anna looked at the angels curiously. “There are demons coming out of the Pit?”

Zachariah nodded his face taken a grim expression. “There’s been much more demon summoning since the apocalypse began.”

“You mean…humans making deals,” Anna realized slowly.

Uriel snorted. “And then some. These mud monkeys that you’ve grown so fond of, they care about nothing but themselves.”

“That’s not true,” Anna said.

“It’s in human nature to be selfish,” Zachariah said softly. 

“There are a lot of good people on earth. Very good. I met some actually,” Anna said flashing back to Bobby Singer, Rufus Turner and even Sam Winchester. 

 

_“I think I’ve got it,” Sam said closing the laptop. “Anna’s grace. It’s in Kentucky.”_

_“How do you know?” Rufus asked._

_“There was this meteor shower in ’85. One fell over Ohio the same year Anna was born. The other was in Kentucky,” Sam replied._

 

“You met the younger Winchester,” Zachariah drawled. “That abomination has never been good.”

Anna bristled. “Sam isn’t an abomination.”

 

_Anna stared up at the oak. It was big and breathtaking. It shined out to Anna like a beacon. She rested her hand on it and felt for her grace. “It’s here. It’s definitely here.”_

 

“Sure he is. He’s got demon blood in him. If anybody’s gonna set Lucifer free, it’s him,” Uriel spat.

“No! You’re trying to set Lucifer free,” Anna said. 

“Watch what you’re accusing here,” Zachariah warned. “You’re already in a lot of trouble as it is, Anna. You don’t want to find yourself in any more.”

Anna swallowed. Fear coiled in her belly. One of the human emotions she could really do without right now. _I can’t get myself caught now_ , she thought, _I have to find Castiel first_. Anna turned and ran.

 

 

**Present**  
 **Wyoming**

“Cole Griffith, if you’re here, can you please give us some kind of sign?” Pamela Barnes figured the only reason why she was brought along here in the first place was for this moment. The only death in this town was a boy named Cole who died from asthma. The hunters thought his ghost may still be hanging around, lost between the crack of the living and dead.

The three waited in the cemetery for another fifteen minutes before giving up. “Isn’t there another way to talk to the dead?” Sam asked getting frustrated.

Pamela raised an eyebrow and joked, “Try dying.”

Sam stopped causing Bobby and Pamela to stop as well. Pamela could see the wheel in Sam’s head turning at the idea she unsuspectingly planted. “Now hang on, Winchester…I was kidding.”

“Come on, Pam,” Sam said. “It could work, right? The only kinds of people that can talk to the dead or reapers are the dead or dying. So if we want to find out what’s going on here…”

“Now you’re just talkin’ crazy,” Bobby muttered.

“I know.”

“This sounds like some kind of thing your brother would cook up,” Bobby said.

Sam sighed. “I know that too. But sometimes crazy works.”

Pamela shook her head. “It actually happens I do know a spell or two to disconnect your spirit from your body temporarily.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Pamela said. “But it’s dangerous. Your body will be vulnerable when your spirit is out of it. Bobby and I can make sure nothing happens to your body out here. All you have to worry about is making it back okay and…I’m going to tell you the word to release the spell. Now, Sam, it’s important you remember it, okay? Because it’s the only way to get back into your body. You with me so far?”

“Yes ma’am,” Sam replied.

Pamela nodded approvingly. “Good. Okay, come on then, boys. We’ve got some work to do.”

 

 

 **Five days ago**  
Heaven

“Come on, Anna! You can’t run from us forever. Where do you think we are?” 

Anna held in her breath. Heaven extended on forever. No one place was ever the same. It was made up of people’s memories. The good ones. People could relive the best moments of their lives. They could be happy forever. But how could a memory ever compare to the real thing? Even the best moments caught on film. It was just a shadow to the actual experience.

Anna squeezed her eyes shut and imagined wings, the experience, sensation of flying. Zachariah’s taunting voice dimmed to the background until it completely disappeared. Anna opened her eyes to the bright rays of sunlight. She quickly shielded her eyes with her arm. Anna slowly raised her arm to see rows of houses across a quiet, suburban street. She was in what looked like some kind of neighborhood. 

A boy with dark hair rode past her on his bike. He didn’t look any older than nine. Confused Anna slowly rose to her feet looking around. She was in front of a house. The front lawn looked recently cut, the grass a healthy shade of green.

The front door opened suddenly and Anna stood rigid as a boy with blond hair and green eyes bounced out at his mother’s heels. “Mama, I wan’ ta batman lunchbox next time,” the boy said tugging at his mama’s pant leg, “’cos he’s cool and saves people.”

“Okay, okay, Dean, now stop tugging mommy’s pants,” Mary said smiling and ruffling her son’s hair.

Four year old Dean slapped his mama’s hand away. “Mama, stop that. You only do that ta babies! Daddy said so,” Dean cried ducking out of Mary’s grip and practically flinging himself to the car. 

Mary smiled her gaze lingering on her child for a moment before turning to Anna. “Kids, right? They just have so much energy.”

“Yeah,” Anna breathed, still shocked by the scene that just played before her eyes.

“Mary Winchester.”

Anna tilted her head. “I know. I’m Anna.”

“An angel,” Mary guessed.

Anna nodded. She found herself looking around again, taking in the quiet suburban neighborhood.

“Why don’t you come in then?” Mary suggested. “John’s already waiting for us inside.”

Anna turned to look at Dean waiting by the door. “What about Dean?”

Mary smiled and waved her hand vaguely. Dean tilted his head as he shimmered then disappeared. “One of those memories, you know? Dean will always be our little boy.”

Anna swallowed. “Guess so.”

“Now come on. Dinner’s almost ready. And we’ve got pie for dessert. John always told me my pies were to die for but that could’ve just been his stomach talking,” Mary said laughing and slipping inside.

Left with no choice but to follow, Anna also went inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anna's story in Heaven continues at this point. I'll get back down to Sam and bring Dean in soon. Don't worry.

**Heaven**

In Heaven, John’s best memories were when he married Mary. When he had Dean. That small, ever brief semblance of normal. Having a wife, a little boy, a house, a job. Being sweetly ignorant of what was really lying out there in the dark, waiting to creep upon an unsuspecting victim. John happily left those memories behind. He was happy with just Mary and Dean in the comforts of this suburban neighborhood in a replica of Lawrence, Kansas.

Then the angel showed up. John had thought he was finished with them. He’d made the deal to get his well-deserved peace. He was done with the supernatural, but obviously even in death the supernatural just wasn’t finished with him. John sighed as Anna made herself at home.

She sat in the empty seat opposite of Dean. Dean was oblivious to the quiet tension among the grownups as he played with his green beans. John stared down at his untouched plate for a moment before feeling Mary’s gentle touch on his shoulder. He looked up and grinned at her assuring her silently he was fine. Mary wasn’t buying it. She raised an eyebrow and nodded to Anna.

“I’ll play nice,” John promised her grudgingly.

Mary’s gaze lingered over him for a moment before she turned away, seemingly satisfied. Mary walked over to Anna with a pot of rice. “Want some more?”

Anna smiled gratefully. “Sure. Just a little bit more. Thank you.”

“At least angels come with manners,” Mary said glancing meaningfully at John.

John rolled his eyes and stabbed his fork into a steak. “I’ve got manners,” he grumbled. “I’ve got plenty. Right, Dean-o?”

Dean looked up to stare hard at John. “My name’s Dean, daddy,” he said. “D-E-A-N.”

John grinned, trying hard not to laugh at his son. “I know that, Dean,” John replied. “Dean-o’s just a nickname. You don’t like it?”

Dean shook his head sending tousles of blond hair flying. 

“I’m sorry,” John offered.

Dean considered his dad for a moment before shrugging and focusing on his plate again. “I forgive you.” He went back to playing with his veggies.

John rolled his eyes when he noticed the angel was watching the father-son interaction. The angel’s mouth was tilted in a sad little smile as her eyes watched Dean grind his fork into green beans and carrots. 

“Who’s up for some pie?” Mary asked.

Dean’s head shot up and the little boy practically bounced on his seat. “Me! Me! Pick me, mama! Please? I love your pie!” Dean flung himself off his chair and latched onto Mary’s leg.

Mary laughed as she carefully maneuvered them around the table to get to the kitchen where John could smell the delicious scent of fresh pastry.

“Okay, Dean, you can pick the first slice,” Mary said.

“Yay! I want a really big one. Please, mama?”

John could just imagine Dean bouncing on his heels as he waited for Mary to cut him the biggest piece. He looked curiously at the angel who was now slouching in her seat. Anna turned to look at John for a moment.

“It’s a nice place you have here,” the angel told him wistfully.

John looked around the place. It was a pure replica of his old home down on earth, the way he remembered it. “Thanks,” John said. “If we’d known we’d be having company, Mary would’ve cleaned the place up some more.” It was meant as a joke to lighten the mood. Briefly Anna smiled. 

John’s gaze wandered to the kitchen where he could make out his son perched on the kitchen counter diving into a bowl of pie. Mary was talking quietly to Dean. Her gaze flicked to John for a moment and John got it. She was giving him some time to see what the angel wanted with them.

“So, Anna, how’d you know where to find us?”

Anna took in a deep breath and looked down at her hands. “I wasn’t actively looking for you and Mary.”

John stared at her incredulously. She stumbled upon them by accident? How was that even possible?

“I was trying to get away from these…bad angels,” Anna explained. “I thought of flying, of just getting away.”

John lurched up. “Angels are _hunting_ you?” 

Anna rose to her feet. She stared pleadingly at John. “Calm down, please, John.”

“Are angels hunting you right now?” John demanded again.

Hesitantly the angel nodded. That was enough for John. His head was spinning with all kinds of scenarios. This angel could bring trouble to his family. “Get out.”

“John…”

“Get the hell out of my house!” John barked. His heart was thundering in his chest.

Anna stood stiffly where she was. “Okay, I will,” the angel said. “I’m sorry, John.” With that the angel walked out to the front door.

John heard Mary race out of the kitchen in that moment to stop the angel. John’s panic rose a notch and he went to stop his wife. Couldn’t Mary see the angel was going to cause them unneeded attention? 

“John didn’t mean that,” Mary said.

Anna looked at her sadly and replied, “Yes he did. But it’s okay, Mary. I understand. John’s right. Eventually Zachariah and Uriel will track me here. And you two deserve your peace.”

John stopped a few feet away, crossing his arms. “Zachariah and Uriel are the angels that are chasing after you?” Anna nodded. “Why?”

Anna looked from Mary to John and sighed. “They want me dead because of what I know.”

“What do you know?” Mary asked her eyes wide. She glanced over to John.

“Heaven is…it isn’t the same anymore,” Anna said. “What do you guys know about the apocalypse?”

And boy did that take John by surprise. He knew absolutely nothing about it.

Anna explained there was an apocalypse happening back on earth. She explained that the angels wanted to free Lucifer so that he could fight his brother Michael. She told them billions of humans were going to die if she let this happen. And the best part of all this?

It centered around Sam and Dean. Their boys. 

“We had no idea of any of this,” John confessed toward the end of the story.

“How is that possible?” Anna wondered.

“I made a deal when I died,” John said. 

“With a demon?”

John shook his head. “It was when the gate to Hell opened. I managed to climb my way out to the outside world. After Dean killed Yellow Eyes, I saw the light. Followed it straight to Heaven. An angel came to me with an offer when I got there and I was in a bad place. Just got out of a century of nothing but pain and torture,” John told the angel, his eyes pleading for her to understand. “I know deals don’t usually lead to anything good but this was an angel and I was in Heaven for Pete’s sake! He said I could be with Mary again, that we’d be left alone this time. For good. As long as we didn’t ask any questions. So…we didn’t.”

“You didn’t ever wonder?” Anna asked. “You didn’t wonder what was going on down there? You didn’t wonder about your sons, not even once?”

“Of course we did! We all have questions–that’s what makes us human!” Mary cried. “We wondered for a while but it wasn’t like the angels would tell us anything so we just…”

“Got used to it,” John finished softly. “We hadn’t even seen an angel since that first one…’til now at least. And besides we were content with Dean.” He glanced back to the kitchen where everything had gone quiet. John frowned.

Anna tilted her head. “What about Sam?” she asked quietly.

“What?” John asked surprised.

“You’re content with Dean but what about Sam? Isn’t he also your son?”

John looked to Mary. Hesitantly he said, “Sam’s my son, yes, but…”

“With Dean, it was one of your happier memories,” Anna said. “Because Mary was still alive and you’d give anything to have even a small piece of her.” She smiled sadly at him. “They got you. They got you hooked in so deeply, John, even you couldn’t see it.”

“What?” John’s gaze darted over to where Mary stood but she was gone. Where did she go? She was just here. “Mary?” John felt his heart lurch. He started to race through the house to try and find his wife. “Mary!” 

_Please don’t let this be happening. Please…this couldn’t be real._ John’s heart thundered in his chest. Mary couldn’t have just disappeared. “MARY!”

“She’s not here, John,” Anna said sadly. “She never was.”

John froze on the stairs. He squeezed his eyes shut. No that was wrong. The angel was wrong. Anna was the trick not Mary. Mary was real. She was here. “You’re wrong,” he said through gritted teeth. “Get out. Get…the hell out of my house.”

“I can’t. I need your help,” Anna whispered. “You have to tell me the name of the angel that you made the deal with. Please.”

John barked out a sharp laugh as his own slice of Heaven came crashing down. “Why should I tell you?”

“Because I can help you find the real Mary Winchester. Please, just give me the name.”

John inhaled a deep breath, then released it. “Castiel. He said his name was Castiel.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning for canon deaths in the upcoming chapters.

**Heaven**

Anna stepped toward John. He looked small and lost. A man that had everything he could want one moment before Anna snatched it all away in one single motion. Anna felt something twist inside her. She clenched her hands into fists. She knew this feeling all too well. Guilt. Anna opened John’s eyes to what was truly there but this was Heaven. If he wanted, he could go back to happily living with a memory, a shadow of Mary. Of normal, safe, family. He could remain hopelessly ignorant of everything around him. And Anna would have no choice but to leave him be. But he was John Winchester.

Now that he knew what was really happening out there, to his boys, John was going to do everything it took to make things right. Even if he had to give up this façade of peace and calm and normal.

“You’re looking for this angel, aren’t you?” John asked finally looking up at her.

Anna nodded. “I’m trying to stop the apocalypse.”

“And he’s the key to doing that?”

“He’s one of them,” Anna replied. “Actually I need to find him to get to…Dean.”

John raised an eyebrow. “Dean,” he repeated somewhat dully staring down at his hands.

“Yes,” Anna said. “They’re going to use Dean…to fight Lucifer. The angels want him to lead Heaven in a battle against Hell.”

“Fancy stuff,” John snorted, rubbing his hands. “But Heaven’s good, isn’t it? So why stop Dean?”

Anna hesitated. “Not all of Heaven is good, John,” she whispered. “The destruction this war will wage on earth…it’s going to kill billions of people before it’s over.”

“Dean wouldn’t do that then,” John said. “I raised that boy myself. He wouldn’t sacrifice billions of people even if it is for the greater good.” His gaze turned somewhat wistful and Anna wondered what John was thinking. “I made a lot of dumb choices when I was alive. I made a lot of sacrifices. I regret most of them. But one thing I don’t regret? Raising my sons. They know right from wrong. They’ll make the right calls in the end, Anna. We just got to have faith in them.”

Anna wished she could believe that. “I have to find Castiel,” she repeated.

John scratched his beard and nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

Dean wandered in then. Anna startled by the boy’s sudden appearance. He looked up at her with sharp green eyes. “Hello, Anna.”

“Castiel,” Anna breathed as Dean transformed into the angel.

“I heard you are looking for me,” Castiel said.

John’s eyes darted between the two. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered.

Castiel turned to John with an apology, “I’m sorry I lied to you. We were always watching over you, John Winchester. Your family…is special.”

“What did you do to Mary?” John asked.

Castiel sighed. “That, I’m afraid, I don’t know. I had nothing to do with her.”

“Liar,” John spat. He got up to his feet but before he could do much else, Castiel snapped his fingers and John was gone. 

“Where did you send him?”

“Away,” the angel answered before turning solemnly to Anna. “We need to talk, Anna.”

Anna nodded. “I figured.”

 

 

**Present**  
 **Greybull, Wyoming**

“Easy there, tiger,” Pamela said as Sam went to lay down on the bed.

“I’m as easy as I’ll ever get,” Sam muttered trying to relax.

“You won’t feel a thing,” Pamela assured him.

Which wasn’t all that assuring considering he was about to be ‘dead’ in a second. He blew in a breath and eased his head down on the pillow. “Just do it already,” Sam said.

Bobby rolled his eyes down at Sam. “You seem to be in an awful hurry,” the hunter grumbled as Pamela ignored both of them and started the incantation. “Somethin’ you ought to be telling us?”

Sam sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “I just don’t like being here in this place,” he confessed. “The faster we find out what’s going on the faster we can fix it, you know?”

“Yeah,” Bobby huffed.

Pamela suddenly stopped. “It’s done. You should be feeling a little tingle any minute, Sam.”

“I think I feel it now,” Sam said and suddenly lurched up. “Shit! Pam?”

Pamela made no move to help him as Bobby flew into action, latching onto his arm and helping him back in place. “Calm down. That’s supposed to happen,” she said. “Your body is trying to reject your spirit. Let it happen, boy and get away from him, Singer!”

Sam let out a pained cry as his stomach started to cramp up. Bobby let go of him almost immediately though he looked somewhat unsure if it was the right call. Sam tried to reach out to grab Bobby’s arm but his body suddenly wouldn’t work the way he wanted it to. He watched helplessly as he flew back so his back was on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, completely motionless.

Then a moment later Pamela was staring down at him. “I’m going to whisper the word you need to break the spell into your ear. You say it and the spell wears off. It doesn’t matter where you are. You’ll return to your body. You got that, Sam?” She leaned over and pressed her lips to his ear.

Suddenly Sam stood up. He looked down at his body. So this was what it was like to be a ghost. It was disorienting really.

“Sam?” Sam turned at the sound of his name. Bobby was staring down at his motionless body. “If you’re still here, son, if you can hear me…just, be careful.”

Sam smiled and left the room.

He wandered down the streets through the town. It was amazing how chaotic it could turn in only a few days. He let his mind wander. He wondered what was going on with Dean now. Where were the angels now in all this? Were they chasing after the seals still? How many did Lilith manage to break now?

He turned the upcoming corner. People were driving a little recklessly but that seemed like the new norm. Everyone was immune to death so they probably all thought, why the hell not? He watched as people passed by and almost jumped when a couple holding hands passed right through him.

It was by accident he looked up into an apartment complex. The window near the top floor was occupied. Sam frowned as he saw the boy stare down at him. That must be Cole Griffith, he thought. Then the boy flickered out of existence.

Sam made up his mind then and crossed the street, determined to get to the kid. 

Cole was haunting his mom. Not intentionally. He knew he was dead but there wasn’t a reaper to send him off into the light. 

“What are you doing here?” Cole asked as Sam sat on the edge of the boy’s bed. His eyes were distrusting. Sam couldn’t blame him for being so suspicious. 

Sam sighed. “I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. You’ve noticed, right? No one’s dying when they’re supposed to, Cole.”

Cole nodded, his body still trembling. “Yeah. Yeah I’ve noticed,” Cole replied. “It’s weird. Really weird.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “I need your help, Cole. I need you to tell me what’s going on.”

“I…I don’t know anything,” Cole said backing up a step. “One minute I was alive, then…I had asthma. Didn’t think it’d get me killed in the end.” He shrugged. “But here I am. And my mom…she needs me. I can’t just leave her.”

“No one’s making you leave anyone,” Sam tried to placate. “Look…you must have seen something, I dunno, something strange since you…you know.”

Cole hesitated before shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry but I can’t help you.” He flickered out of existence again leaving Sam empty handed. 

He was close, so close. 

 

 

Tessa immediately knew there was something wrong with this town when she stepped foot in Greybull, Wyoming. The reapers before her hadn’t called back in after they finished up here. Judging by the total number of names on her ever climbing list she knew no one had even done their job. Something had happened and she realized that if she stayed that same something was going to happen to her as well. But Tessa also knew someone had to reap the souls before nature became any more out of whack. It rested on Tessa whether she liked it or not.

She took another look at her list and read off the first name. ‘Cole Griffith’. Soon Tessa materialized in the apartment Cole’s mother still lived in. The poor soul was convinced she was being haunted by her dead son and in a way she was right. Cole was lost. There weren’t any reapers here to show him the way to the afterlife. Tessa wandered up the stairs where Cole had last been. When she got up to Cole’s room she gritted her teeth to the sight.

Of course. Sam Winchester looked up at her. “Uh hi,” he said standing up.

Tessa just sighed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **cannon death**

Sam was sure he was facing a reaper. She looked normal enough but he was a ghost right now and she was watching him like a hawk so she couldn’t possibly be normal. Only other dead people and reapers could see him. He stood awkwardly by the bed as she continued to assess him with dark eyes. Sam felt a little like a bug under a microscope.

“Sam Winchester,” he offered after a moment. “You’re a reaper, aren’t you?”

The reaper nodded, then tilted her head. “Where’s your brother, Dean?”

Sam swallowed visibly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Dean…we haven’t been together in a while now.” He paused and looked up at her. “How do you know my brother anyway?”

“My name is Tessa. Dean and I…we go a long way back,” she replied looking wistful suddenly, locked in a memory Sam couldn’t see.

“I didn’t realize Dean had history with a reaper,” Sam joked.

Tessa blinked at him and said, “You learn something new every day, huh? On a more serious note, I was actually there to reap your brother but your father, John…he made a deal with the demon.”

Sam’s mouth turned into a small ‘o’ as he realized which time she was talking about. It was that day in the hospital that felt like forever ago now. Sam missed those days. “You’re my brother’s reaper,” he said finally.

Tessa nodded.

Sam felt anger curl in the pit of his gut. This was the reaper that tried to take away Dean. Before Sam could grab the anger welling inside him like a seeping darkness, it was suddenly gone only to be replaced with the sorrow of losing Dean not too long ago. 

Sam took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions. “Well Dean’s gone now. Let’s leave the past in the past,” Sam said.

Tessa studied Sam for a moment before nodding her agreement. “Good idea. I didn’t come here for your family drama anyway.”

Sam tensed. “Why are you here? You must’ve realized something’s going on. Your reaper pals are gone.”

“I know,” Tessa said.

“Then you know it’s probably dangerous for you to be here,” Sam pressed. Couldn’t she see? Something happened to the reapers and if Tessa stayed any longer, something was going to happen to her. Sam had to make Tessa see that she was in danger.

“Sam, look, I get it,” Tessa said softly. “But I have to do my job. People aren’t dying here and that’s not natural.”

“I can figure this out,” Sam said instantly latching on any opportunity he could get. “I can figure this whole thing out…if you’d just give me a chance. I promise once I fix this, you can go about reaping again.” He paused. “You’re here for Cole, right? He can be the first on your list. Just let me fix this. Please?”

Tessa sighed but she seemed to consider what Sam said. She finally nodded and raised a finger at him. “Fine but you agreed, Cole’s first. Don’t back out on your word, Winchester.”

Sam nodded eagerly. He needed to find Cole because he knew deep down the kid had definitely seen something.

 

 

Cole Griffith was fifteen years old when he died. He was going to get his driver’s permit in a few months. His mom said so. Cole looked down the streets of small town, Greybull. He grew up here. He knew the lady walking her dog, and the man coming out of his parked car and the couple kids racing their bikes down the crosswalk. He knew the couple holding hands as their baby daughter wailed in her stroller. He knew these people. He could name half the people that he went to school with.

Cole let out a long suffering sigh. He missed being alive. He stared down at his hands. Sometimes it was fun to throw things down at the people below and they’d look up in surprise and they would never see him. He’d laugh and sink down from the roof of the apartment complex back to the room he used to live in with his mom. His mom was convinced Cole was still here. Was haunting her. But he wasn’t haunting her. Not really. She needed comfort and that was what he was providing and that was the opposite of haunting, right?

But his mom didn’t see it that way. Cole didn’t know how to show her that she still needed him and he’d be there for her until she didn’t.

When Cole came back into his room, he noticed the Sam guy was still there. He huffed angrily, “What are you doing here? I told you I can’t help you. Go bother some other ghost.”

Sam blinked up at him. “You saw something out there, Cole,” he said still sitting stubbornly on Cole’s bed. “I can’t leave until you tell me what it was. This is important, man.”

“My life’s important,” Cole snapped.

 _And you’re ruining it right now_ , he thought.

Sam still didn’t move. His eyes narrowed at Cole instead. “Can’t you see this is much more important? Cole, you’re freaking dead. You know you’re going to eventually have to move on, right?”

Cole took a step back. No. He knew that but…his gaze slid to the open door where he could hear his mom moving in the kitchen making lunch. She used to make Cole sandwiches that he’d take out to eat with his friends. Cole felt something wet in his eyes. He blinked, slowly dragging his hand up to touch the tear tracks. 

Why was he crying? He turned pleading eyes on Sam. “My mom still needs me,” he said. “She cries all the time in the day and has nightmares at night. Please, Sam. I can’t go away. You can’t take me from her.”

Sam’s eyes became softer than Cole had seen them before. Did he make Sam understand? “It’s natural that when you die you move on. No one stays a ghost forever, Cole. And your mom…I hate to say it, man, but she’s actually better off without you being here. She’s going insane thinking you’re haunting her.”

Cole shook his head. Sam was wrong. So wrong. That wasn’t what was going on. Cole was good for his mom. “My mom…she needs me,” he pleaded once more. He turned around, about to go to the kitchen to prove his point to the other ghost. Then suddenly there was a chill that made him shiver.

A woman stepped into the room blocking his escape. Cole backtracked from the woman. “Who are you?”

“Her name’s Tessa,” Sam said from behind him. “She’s a reaper.”

“No…” They couldn’t do this to him. Not now. Cole tried to run but something prevented him from moving. Cole looked around him to see why he couldn’t move. There was nothing binding his body. He looked up to see the reaper standing in front of him. “What did you do to me?”

“Nothing,” Tessa said, rolling her eyes when Sam raised an eyebrow at her. “Nothing that you really need to worry about. I’m not here to reap you. Sam here just wants some answers.”

“And then what?” Cole asked hesitantly. “You’ll let me go?”

Tessa nodded. “Then I’ll let you go,” she echoed.

“Just like that?”

“Exactly like that,” Sam said. “So how about it?”

Cole turned to Sam. “I um…I saw this black smoke. The day of my funeral.”

“Black…smoke.” The look on Sam’s face made Cole tense. Sam’s eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. “This could be bad, Tessa.”

“What? What is it, Sam?” Cole asked not wanting to be kept in the dark as his eyes darted from the reaper to the other ghost. “What’s going on?”

As Sam opened his mouth to explain, the lights suddenly flickered. Cole spun around as the building shook. “What is that?” he asked.

Sam stood up and looked questioningly to Tessa. “That’s not you doing that, is it?”

Tessa shook her head looking around as well. “I’m afraid not.”

“The demon then?” Sam yelled as a sudden gust of wind startled Cole enough to knock him down.

Cole saw a rush of smoke flood into the room. It swirled around them and before long Cole had to shield his eyes. He could hear Sam shout through the roar of wind but couldn’t make out actual words. After a minute the wind died down and Cole opened his eyes again. The smoke was gone and so was the reaper. He turned around to see Sam standing rigid a few feet away from Cole. He looked around desperately for any traces of Tessa.

Cole looked down at his bare feet. “So…demons?” he asked in a low voice.

 

 

**Two days ago**  
 **Heaven**

Sometimes Castiel wondered why their Father made some of his creations the way they were. Disloyal, weak, cowardly, liars, sinners…those were perfect descriptions of humans. In a way his brothers and sisters were right to look down on them. Humans were rebellious, selfish, self-righteous…

“Loyal. Brave. Strong.” Anna’s voice pierced through the room and Castiel found himself looking up. “Just, fair, kind,” she listed off even at Castiel’s darkening scowl. “Humans are so many things, Castiel. I wish you and our brothers and sisters could see that.”

“Falling was the greatest sin you could have done,” Castiel responded.

“I know. I don’t regret it either,” Anna said.

The way Anna looked and talked down to Castiel when she was the one that fell to earth, ripped of her wings and grace, made anger boil in Castiel’s belly. He never used to feel this way, a rage inside him that was trying to tear him from the inside out. Castiel wanted to lunge across the room and swipe the sympathy from Anna’s eyes. She had no right to stare at him like that. 

“You’re feeling things, brother,” Anna said watching him with a knowing look. “And it scares you because you don’t know what to do with all these new emotions. Let me tell you that what you’re feeling now, it’s okay. It’s okay because it’s normal.”

Castiel heard his heart hammering in his chest. “No it’s not,” he said through clenched teeth. “Angels aren’t made to feel, Anna.”

Anna stood up suddenly. “We are,” she insisted. “We have feelings, Cas. We have souls too.”

“Cas,” Castiel echoed slowly. Only one person ever called him that.

Anna shrugged noticing her slip. “Sam sometimes called you that,” she admitted.

Castiel’s expression darkened. He was back to feeling angry, a cornered trapped animal. “This is why we’re not supposed to fall!” he barked. “Look what it has done to you, sister. Please. You have to realize it.” He turned pleading eyes up at her, hoping she understood the errors she made.

“Realize what?” Anna’s voice was low.

“It’s made you weak,” Castiel said. “You’ve become…almost human.” He tilted his head in thought. “Do you…do you even care about Heaven now? About our brothers and sisters? Will you go against us for the sake of the…humans?”

Anna looked at him sadly and Castiel couldn’t understand why she kept looking at him that way. “I’ll always care about Heaven, you, our brothers and sisters…everything. But I care about humans too. And what you’re doing…it’s wrong. Heaven isn’t the same anymore, Castiel.”

“You’re wrong,” Castiel said.

“You have to tell me where Dean Winchester is,” Anna said suddenly. She could see she wasn’t going to get through to Castiel. “I have to find him, Cas.”

Castiel frowned. “Why?”

“He can’t complete his destiny.”

Again that word. Destiny. Castiel’s frown turned deeper before a realization dawned on him. Anna wore a grim look. Castiel clenched his hand. His eyes flicked down to where Anna slowly took out a knife. “You are planning on killing Dean Winchester.”

Anna nodded not bothering to lie now. There wasn’t any point. “He has to die,” she said but there was something in her voice that Castiel couldn’t place. Anna looked up at her brother. “It’s called regret, Cas,” she said softly. “I don’t want to kill him but there isn’t any other choice. Billions of people will die if he isn’t stopped.” She looked suddenly sad.

“Why are you doing this for them?” Castiel asked again. _Why would you turn your back on your family? Why would you fall?_

“Because they’re my family too,” Anna said. “I’m sorry.”

Castiel looked down to the floor. He could hear Anna walk over to him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. The angel leaned into the touch. “I…am sorry too, Anna.”

In one quick motion, Castiel took out his angel blade and slammed it into Anna’s heart. He watched detachedly as the light of her soul shined through her eyes for a moment. Life left her eyes. “I can’t let you kill my charge,” he told his sister’s cold corpse. “Besides Dean isn’t here. He is down on earth chasing after a demon named Alistair.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the torture scene

**Present**  
 **Greybull, Wyoming**  
 **Outside the funeral home**

Dean Winchester had been a good hunter before. He was smart, despite what he told people he knew that deep down. After all it was his idea to load a pistol with rock salt and he did make that makeshift EMF reader. Dean had always been pretty strong. John being an ex-marine helped with that, believing that his sons needed some hand to hand combat training. Oh it definitely helped. Dean was fast and above it all, he just had plain good instincts.

But before Dean had a soul. 

Dean looked up at the building. It was a funeral home. There were sigils carved on the walls and painted crudely to the door and windows. He was in the right place after all. Dean pushed open the door and strolled in. 

As a joke he called out, “Honey, I’m home!” 

Alastair already knew he was here. Demons could smell humans a mile away so it wasn’t like Dean had the element of surprise. He blinked into the darkness. Dean walked onward and the lights suddenly flickered on. A man stood in the center of the room. Drawn at his feet was a large summoning circle and in the center of that circle lay a woman. She stared up at him in surprise.

“Dean!”

Dean raised an eyebrow but didn’t move. “Do I know you?”

Alastair turned around not surprised by his presence in the least. His mouth quirked in a tight grin. “Ah if it isn’t my greatest protégé. Out of the Pit I see.” He cocked his head to the side. “Isn’t it just the oddest thing though…I could’ve sworn I saw you working the rack just yesterday?”

Dean matched his grin with his own. “You’ll have the angels to thank for my doppelganger problem,” he replied.

Alastair mulled over the thought. “Those angels are always messing with things they shouldn’t be, aren’t they, Dean? They think they’re oh so clever.”

“Hey they have you guys shaking in your boots,” Dean remarked.

Alastair frowned. “You think we’re scared of a couple pesky little angels and their…soulless lapdog? That’s what’s so different about you, isn’t it? Yes I see it now.” Alastair looked the hunter up and down for a moment. “So you really do have a doppelganger. Your soul is still in the Pit, wasting away, while you’re up here as Heaven’s little…bitch.” The demon chuckled. “This is glorious, Dean, truly.”

“Look, dude, I really don’t give a crap about my soul,” Dean said crossing his arms. “I’ve got orders to take you in so I’ll give you two choices. The easy way or the hard. Up to you.”

“Unfortunately I don’t really like either choice,” Alastair said. He held out his hand to Dean, palm out and suddenly Dean was sent crashing into the wall. “Stay put like a good boy over there.”

Dean gritted his teeth as the demon turned back to the woman. He started up the incantation. Dean was not going to lay here like a helpless infant. He pushed out against the force that bound him to the wall. Dean could see a small ripple in the air. He frowned not sure what he had done but now he could move the tip of his finger. He pushed out again. There was another ripple, and then another. He managed to move his fingers before Alastair whirled around.

He frowned at Dean as his gaze slowly trailed down to Dean right hand. It twitched. “What the hell–“

There was a loud crackle and the light flickered. Dean looked up to see Sam appear right in front of Alastair. The building shook and the light bulb exploded. Sam raised his hand and sent the demon flying.

“Sam?” Dean asked surprised by his brother’s sudden appearance.

Sam turned around looking just as surprised to see Dean staring at him. “Dean? What the hell are you doing here?” 

Before Dean had a chance to respond, Alastair got up and stalked over to the brothers. “We’ll trade stories another time,” Dean promised and quickly rose to his feet.

Sam just nodded before flicking out of sight as Alastair sent a chair flying. Dean dived to the floor just in time to hear it shatter into the wall behind him. Sam appeared behind the demon but Alastair anticipated his move and whirled around to face him. He knocked Sam into a table.

Dean used the small distraction to roll to his feet and tackle Alastair to the ground. Straddling the demon, Dean took hold of Alastair’s neck with both hands. While Alastair struggled to knock Dean off him, Sam reappeared beside Dean. He knelt down and pressed a hand to the demon’s chest. Alastair’s struggles became weaker.

“Alright Cas, I got him,” Dean said up to the heaven. “Get your feathery ass down here. I’ve done what you wanted me to!”

Sam looked to his brother. “You’re working for the angels now?”

Cas appeared behind the brothers. Dean turned around and nodded. “Yeah. Guess so,” he said to Sam.

“You can get off it now. I’ve got it from here, Dean,” Cas said as he walked over to Alastair. 

Reluctantly Dean got off the demon. Cas knelt down and touched Alastair’s forehead. “Thank you.” He looked over to Sam thoughtfully. “Hello, Sam.”

“Cas,” Sam greeted.

Cas frowned at the nickname but didn’t comment. He turned back up to Dean. “I’ll still need your help.”

“Of course you do,” Dean said. Cas didn’t move. “Now?” 

The angel nodded. “Yes.”

“Right. Whatever you say.” Dean turned to Sam with a shrug. “Sorry, man. Catch up another time I guess. Duty calls. Okay, Cas, work your mojo.”

“Wait! Dean,” Sam called out, getting his brother’s attention again. “So just like that…you’re…this is it, isn’t it?”

Dean stared at his brother. Sam didn’t seem to get it. With a shake of his head, he turned back to the angel. “We’ll catch up later, Sammy, promise. Come on, Cas. Let’s go before he tries another chick-flick moment on us.”

But Dean was a liar. The next time he saw his brother again, they would both be changed. A lot changed.

 

 

Bobby Singer wasn’t sure when it all went downhill. Maybe it was supposed to be this way. Maybe the angels were right on destiny. Maybe everything had been set in stone since the very beginning and no matter what road you took, it all led to the very same place. Bobby liked to think everyone had free will but it was getting harder and harder to see that.

After the confrontation with his brother, Sam slipped. He parted ways from Bobby. Went off with Ruby to only God knew where at this point. Bobby tried to call Sam but it felt too much like that dark period in time where they just buried Dean. Sam hung up the first few times before he disconnected his number. And Dean was off in the wind. Not a trace that he even existed. The angels were just damn good.

Sometimes Bobby wondered why he even bothered with the apocalypse.

 

 

 **Two weeks later**  
 **Cheyenne, Wyoming**

“It’s time, Dean,” Castiel said.

Dean nodded and pushed the cart into the room. A low, off key voice sang out:

_“Heaven…I’m in Heaven…_  
 _and my heart beats so I can hardly speak…I_  
 _seem to find the happiness I seek…_  
 _when we’re out together, dancing cheek to cheek.”_

Dean stopped just before the devil’s trap to examine the man chained to the cross in the center of the room. He looked like a normal guy but Dean could see a darkness in him just beneath the surface. He looked up to Dean and his lips curled into a predator’s smile, his brown eyes flashed with recognition. Dean uncovered the cart to reveal a large assortment of devices of torture.

“Well, if it isn’t Dean Winchester, himself…how does it feel being the angels’ bitch? You were an awful lot of fun down in Hell.”

Dean picked up a nearby switchblade and flipped it open absently. “Oh I’m sure I was just loads. I had fun that’s for sure. Between you and me, and the angels spying on us out there I suppose, you were a damn good teacher, Alastair. I mean the way you sliced and diced my insides–best damn time of my life. Here, let me show you a few things I picked up,” Dean said as he walked up to the cross. 

“Bring it on, boy,” Alastair spat.

Dean looked up at him darkly and stabbed the blade into the demon’s arm. “Do you think this is how Jesus felt when he was crucified?” he wondered aloud. Alastair gritted his teeth at the pain. “Do you think this is how all the damned souls feel on the rack? Nah this is a cake walk compared to the Pit. But what if I just…” Suddenly Dean twisted the blade.

“Is that all you’ve got, grasshopper? My, my, being with the angels has really turned you soft,” Alastair panted out.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Dean replied turning back to the cart. He picked up a bottle of water. “Well how about this then? I know you black eyed sons of bitches just love this stuff.” Dean turned back around and took hold of Alastair’s jaw. “Relax. It’ll go in easier if you don’t struggle,” he said in a low voice. The demon tried to shake his grip loose but Dean held steady. “I said ‘relax’.” Dean forced the water bottle into the demon’s mouth. There was a sizzling hiss as the holy water made contact with the demon.

Alastair’s scream was muffled by the bottle. “There. See? I’ve got your attention now, don’t I, Alastair? Now just answer my question and I promise I’ll be gentler…like how you were with me back in the Pit, right? I remember you said you always did have a soft spot for me.”

“F-fuck…you.”

Dean frowned. “I didn’t even ask the question yet. Who’s killing the angels?”

“Go…directly to Hell, do not pass ‘Go’, do not collect two hundred dollars…”

 

 

Castiel watched from the outside as Dean picked up another switchblade and slammed it into the demon’s other arm. When he went into Hell, he touched Dean Winchester’s soul. He held it in the palm of his hands if only for a minute. That minute was enough for Castiel to absorb all of Dean’s memories. 

He was meant to bring back all of Dean but being chased by all the demons in the Pit, Castiel’s hand had slipped. He realized now that touching a soul was not the same, even if he remade Dean’s body atom by atom. The darkness inside the righteous man was now covering him outside as well. It was like staring into a demon. A black hole that sucked everything good into it and left only the bad.

“Castiel…how is he doing?”

Castiel turned to see Uriel standing next to him. “Not good, I’m afraid. He’s not getting anywhere with the demon.” He paused in thought. “Uriel, what if Alistair doesn’t know anything? What if the demons have nothing to do with the killings?”

Uriel raised an eyebrow. “Well what else could be killing our brothers and sisters?”

“I don’t know. Just, something…feels wrong about all this,” Castiel said. He watched as Uriel suddenly tensed. The movement bothered him. “Do you…know something I don’t, Uriel?”

“I don’t know any more than you, brother,” Uriel said relaxing after a moment.

“Of course,” Castiel said but something deep inside him doubted Uriel.


	8. Chapter 8

Pamela Barnes stood in the middle of the remains of what had been New York City.

Facing her just a few feet away was Dean. His leather jacket looked shredded and half his face was darkened with blood that dripped from his hairline. He was also barefoot. Clutched in his right hand was an angel blade that he used to kill Gabriel for getting in his way. 

“Hello, Pam. Have you seen my brother by any chance?” Dean asked as he watched her stumble back to put more distance between her and death. “See, I have this…thing to settle with little bro. He was locked up for a long ass time but now that he’s out and about again, I thought it was time to get this thing dealt with for good.”

“Michael,” Pamela realized. 

“Yes,” Dean said. “I am Michael.”

Heart thundering in her chest, Pamela said, “And if I don’t know where Lucifer is?”

Michael cocked his head to the side. “Then you die.” Michael then lifted his hand. Pamela watched helplessly as a bright light shot through the city. 

 

 

**Present**  
 **Singer Salvage**

Pamela awoke with a shout. She stared into the pitch black of the room. Her shaking hands touched her face. She was met with sweat. Bobby Singer came running in a moment later, flipping on the light immediately. His face was creased with worry as he found her shaking from her latest vision.

“Pam, are you okay?” he demanded.

Pamela shook her head. She wasn’t even sure. “I…I think I just dreamt my death,” she said softly as she watched him carefully. Bobby’s jaw tightened.

“So Dean kills you,” Bobby said flatly.

“No,” Pamela sighed. It was four in the morning and the two had made their way into the kitchen to talk over the vision. Bobby made coffee for both of them. Pamela rubbed her face tiredly. It was hard to explain. While it was Dean’s body, she somehow knew it wasn’t actually Dean.

“He looked like Dean,” Pamela finally said.

Bobby’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought. “Shifter?” he suggested.

Pamela shook her head. “Michael. Like the angel.”

She watched as Bobby pursed his lip. Pamela didn’t like that look. “The archangel, Michael.” Bobby visibly tensed. “In this vision of yours, Pam…did Michael say anything to you before he, you know, killed you?”

Pamela nodded. “He wanted to know where Lucifer was. Oh god…you don’t think he was talking about the Devil, do you?”

“I think so,” Bobby said grimly. “It’s the damn apocalypse after all.”

“They’re brothers. Michael and Lucifer.”

“And Dean was Michael,” Bobby whispered. “You think that means Sam’s…”

“I don’t know what any of this means except that we’re screwed big time,” Pamela replied. And wasn’t that the truth right there.

 

 

At the same time Pamela envisioned her death by Michael, Sam Winchester followed a series of books called “Supernatural” to Kripke’s Hollow where it led him straight to the author, Edlund Carver, AKA Chuck Shurley. He was a scrawny man that looked like he definitely seen better days. 

“You’re not a god, Chuck,” Sam deadpanned.

“It must be horrible what I sent you and your brother through,” Chuck said ignoring him. He was on a rant and nothing Sam said seemed to be getting through so Sam stood there awkwardly as Chuck blew off steam. “I mean, Dean would still be with you if that thing with the angel…hadn’t happened.”

“Wait, what?” Sam asked suddenly intrigued.

Chuck stopped and looked up at Sam. His eyes were wide as he bit down on his bottom lip, just realizing his slip up. Sam didn’t like that Chuck suddenly gone quiet. “Explain to me what you meant, Chuck.”

If Chuck knew something about Castiel and his brother that Sam didn’t…

Chuck sighed and slumped in his chair. He tossed a bunch of printed papers at Sam that Sam caught with ease. “It’s better if you just read it yourself,” Chuck said at Sam’s confused face.

Sam learned a lot that day. More than he wanted to maybe. He shuffled through the papers, tempted to just ball them up and toss them in the trash. According to Chuck’s notes, Castiel, an angel of the lord, pieced his brother back together atom by freaking atom without his goddamn soul. 

“What the hell does this even mean, Chuck?” Sam demanded. 

Chuck shrugged, looking off to the side. “I…I don’t really know,” he said quietly. “I just…it was just something that I saw.”

“You saw an angel pull a man out of Hell without his soul?” 

Chuck slumped further in his chair. “No, I mean…well, maybe? I don’t know. It was just…I think it was what Castiel was thinking at the time. He was feeling guilty for not being able to save Dean’s soul.”

“Yeah okay, I got that much. But what do you mean by souls?” Sam asked.

“Souls are...souls are complicated, Sam. As far as I know everyone has one. I’m sorry. I can’t really explain any further,” Chuck said. 

“I can though.” Castiel materialized next to Sam. “Hello, Chuck.”

“You’re the, the…”

“Angel,” Sam supplied before turning to Castiel. “Cas.”

“Sam,” Castiel greeted stiffly. “Chuck is correct. I was…not able to save Dean Winchester’s soul when I ventured into Hell. I touched it though. It was the only light in Hell.”

“Okay, so what is a soul and why is it so important?” Sam asked impatiently.

“God created all humans with souls. It’s why when you die you can go to either Heaven or Hell. Only souls can enter them. Souls are…driving forces behind decisions, you could call it your conscience. Every good or bad decision you make reflects on your soul.”

“And…Dean’s soul is still in Hell?”

“Yes,” Castiel said. He wouldn’t meet Sam’s gaze.

“I see,” Sam said quietly. This was why Dean was acting the way he was, ditching Sam at the drop of a hat, letting people die for the ‘greater good’. Uncaring. Cold. A perfect, efficient weapon at Heaven’s own disposal. The angels were just using his brother, taking advantage of his state. Sam wasn’t sure if he could ever forgive any angel at this point. 

Sam clenched his hands into fists, nails biting into skin. “Why’d you come here, Castiel?” 

Castiel startled, looking up at Sam finally before his gaze drifted over to Chuck. “I came to check on the prophet, Chuck Shurley.”

Chuck stiffened. “I…what? I’m a prophet?”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Him? A prophet?”

Castiel nodded looking between the two. “Yes.”

Chuck sighed. “I knew it. I didn’t want to believe it, mind you, but it came to me.”

Sam snorted. “Of course.” He turned back to Castiel. “Are you planning on getting my brother out of Hell?”

For a long minute Castiel didn’t reply. Sam almost thought he wouldn’t. “It will be too late for Dean’s soul now. With how long his soul has been in there…I’m sorry, Sam.”

Sam clenched his teeth. “You can’t just leave my brother in there. You’re a freaking angel. You went to Hell once, go again!”

“I can’t. I’m sorry,” Castiel repeated sadly before disappearing.

“Dammit!” 

Chuck peered up at Sam nervously. “S-Sam?”

“Did you know about all this?” Sam asked him.

Chuck shook his head. “No. I don’t know everything, Sam, I’m sorry.”

Sam snorted. Everyone was freaking sorry today. “Nothing’s set in stone,” he told Chuck confidently. “The angels may think so, but it’s not true. Dean’s not a lost cause. Not yet.”

“What are you going to do next?” Chuck asked quietly.

Sam looked at him darkly. “I’m gonna get my brother out. Any way it takes.”

 _Any way_ , Sam thought.


	9. Chapter 9

**Heaven**

Uriel couldn’t believe how perfect everything was slipping into place. Zachariah had been right from the start and the angel wondered why he even doubted his brother. Samuel was following the demons now, treading on a thin path that only led one way and all it had taken was the fool angel, Castiel, to mess up his job on raising Dean Winchester from perdition. Uriel had started to question why they even let Castiel off his leash but now he knew why Zachariah wasn’t in the least bit worried.

And Dean…the vessel for the great archangel, Michael…boy was he a story. Without his soul, Dean was the perfect soldier, the perfect weapon that would lead Heaven to victory. Soon Samuel would open the cage and free Lucifer just like they planned. He would say ‘yes’ and let Lucifer in, in the foolish notion on saving his brother’s soul. And in turn, Dean would say ‘yes’ to Michael. And then? All Hell would break loose on earth. 

 

 

**Down on earth**

Sam was getting stronger. It was thanks to Ruby and the demon blood he knew, but he honestly couldn’t care less. Lilith needed to be stopped and Sam still needed to find a way to bring Dean back. While he wasn’t busy drinking demon blood, Sam practiced his mind exorcisms on rogue demons Ruby brought back. He interrogated them for information on Lilith and each time the demons refused to answer, Sam would crush them with his powers. The scary thing wasn’t that he was getting stronger every time he used it, it was that Sam was starting to like it.

What did you do when the darkness around you felt like it was trying to suffocate you? Consume you whole? You embraced it. That was what Sam learned to do. Soon enough he was calling on that very darkness he used to be so scared of. And where was Ruby? Right beside him, egging him the whole way. Sam was going down a dark road and there was no turning back. Not now. Definitely not now.

In Windom, Minnesota, Sam discovered that John had another son. His half-brother named Adam Milligan. He was dead of course, along with his mom. Eaten by ghouls. Sam was just there to clean up the mess.

“Sayonara, brother,” Sam muttered into the burning fire. He headed back to the motel room. 

“What took you so long?” Ruby asked as Sam stepped inside and pulled off his jacket.

Sam shrugged. “Family affair.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment thankfully. “Look, Sam, I just got word about where Lilith will hit next.”

Sam snapped his head up to demon. “Where?” he demanded. “Tell me where she is, Ruby.”

 

 

Sam stood in front of St. Mary’s Convent in Ilchester, Maryland a week later. He breathed in deeply. This is it, he thought.

“Come on, Winchester,” Ruby said rolling her eyes when Sam didn’t move.

“I will so just shut up for a minute,” he snapped without meaning to. Ruby immediately quieted. It was one of the upsides to demon blood. It made Sam’s abilities stronger and one of them, he had discovered only a couple days ago was that he could tell anyone what to do and they’d do it. Just. Like. That. 

“Okay,” he said finally. “Let’s go now.”

 

 

**Heaven**

Castiel sometimes wondered where angels went when they died. Where was Anna now? She fell and became human. She was in a way born a human. Did she have a soul then? Was she in Heaven reliving her best memories? In Hell burning for eternity for betraying her family? Castiel had felt…a deep sadness, an ache, when Anna died.

“Did you know something about Heaven that I couldn’t see, Anna? Ever since you told me of your suspicions of our brothers and sisters, I can’t help but see something I would never have otherwise noticed before. You planted the seeds of doubt in my mind and I can’t do anything but let it grow,” Castiel confessed in the Garden of Eden. It was strange talking to his dead sister. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was watching him from somewhere far away. Maybe angels had an afterlife as well. He continued, “Uriel…has been acting strange lately. Every answer he tells feels insincere and hollow. I’m not sure to blame you for how I’m feeling now or to thank you.”

Castiel fell silent for a while as he sat on a bench. The Garden of Eden was a fascinating creation. To each person it changed its appearance. To Castiel it was a large grassy meadow of plants. He sat under a giant oak. The sun glared down from the sky.

“I confronted Sam Winchester a week ago,” Castiel said. “I told him about his brother, how I could not save Dean’s soul. He blamed me for the way Dean is and he is right to. It is my fault. Sister, I’m not sure when everything went so horribly wrong.”

Castiel got up. “I’m not sure but I intend to find out,” he said to himself. He went to find Uriel.

Castiel came across Uriel in a young girl’s Heaven. His brother didn’t turn around as he addressed him quietly, “They die so young, don’t they? These humans…their lifespan is ridiculously short, their bodies so fragile.”

Castiel stared at the little girl eating dinner with her family. She laughed as her father, the mirror image of himself, said something that Castiel couldn’t quite hear from this distance. It made the whole family laugh. The little girl, the father, the mother.

“Claire,” Castiel whispered.

Uriel nodded but his focus wasn’t on Castiel. He was watching the window as well. “Your vessel’s child, yes.”

“How…did you know?” Castiel asked. It had only been a few weeks since Claire Novak fell ill and died in a hospital room. Even Jimmy Novak, Castiel’s vessel, didn’t know about his daughter’s death. Castiel made sure to use the same sigils to ward away angels here like he did with John’s Heaven. It shouldn’t be possible that Uriel had found this place.

Uriel cocked his head up. “Did you think you could hide things from us, Castiel?” The angel laughed. “Oh we knew about John Winchester too. We just didn’t need him.”

“But you need Claire?” Castiel asked, tightening his jaw.

Uriel leaned forward. “I need to ensure your cooperation. I know Anna talked to you before she died.”

Castiel took a step back. There it was again. That feeling, that…doubt. There was something going on and Uriel was at the core of it. “Anna did talk to me,” he conceded.

“About what?” Uriel asked.

“She said she regretted falling,” Castiel lied. He gulped as Uriel narrowed his eyes. Castiel was sinning, here, in front of his brother, and for what? Because his dead sister might have been right and only now was Castiel seeing the truth for the first time.

“You’re lying,” Uriel hissed. “She said something else. What was it, Castiel?”

“She said Heaven was not the same,” Castiel said.

Uriel snorted. “She just couldn’t see what we’re doing.”

“We’re…doing God’s work,” Castiel said hesitantly. It almost came out as a question.

“You’re so naïve, Castiel. It’s why we thought you’d be perfect for the job,” Uriel said ignoring what Castiel said.

“What job?”

“Raising Dean Winchester, of course. We hadn’t expected you to raise him without his soul but it actually helped more than it harmed. Thank you for that, brother. I’m sure it would’ve gone the same way even if he did have his soul, but I’ll admit this way was a lot easier. He’ll say ‘yes’ to Michael once Sam says ‘yes’ to the Devil,” Uriel said with a bark of laughter. “You’ve pushed the plan along much further than anyone could expect. Even Michael was surprised.”

Something was wrong. Castiel could feel his heart thundering. “I…don’t understand. Was this part of Father’s plan?”

“Father?” Uriel snorted. “Father has long since left the building, brother.”

No. Castiel shook his head. Nonono. Uriel was lying. “Father planned this. I was following Father’s orders.” _Not yours._

“Sorry to disappoint you but you were following our orders, not God’s,” Uriel said before standing up. “I think it’s about time to see the end result of your own making now.”

“What?”

Uriel smiled crookedly. “Sam Winchester is about to meet his destiny.”

“No! Leave Sam out of this!” Castiel lunged at Uriel. Before he could grab Uriel though, the angel reached out quickly to grab hold of Castiel’s neck, lifting him high in the air.

Uriel glanced over to the house where Claire Novak was still eating dinner with her family. Castiel stiffened. “You attempt to kill me, she dies,” Uriel growled. “What do you think happens when you destroy a soul that isn’t in a body? Now come on, let’s give Lucifer the warm welcome he deserves.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Present**

Sam was sure everything he did in life had been leading up to this point, to the point where he would stop Lilith once and for all. It started as a revenge mission, much like John Winchester and Yellow Eyes, but for Sam it quickly spiraled to something else. Killing Lilith became something more. A test of some kind maybe. A stepping stone to something else. An excuse to use his powers. Sam hungered for the darkness that surrounded him now. He embraced it. Controlled it. When Sam was a little kid, he remembered being scared of that very same darkness that seemed to shroud his dreams. He would wake Dean up beside him and his big brother would tell him there was nothing to be scared of. Because Sam was better, tougher, stronger than the dark.

But Dean wasn’t here to tell Sam those things anymore. And over the months with just Ruby as company, Sam learned Dean was a liar. Sam was no better than the darkness. But it was okay. Because Sam wasn’t a little kid either. He didn’t understand it back then. This thing deep inside Sam that always made him feel miserable, like he was some kind of freak. Okay, maybe Sam was still a freak. But a freak with powers was better than being a normal freak. Sam could get anyone to do whatever he wanted without batting an eye. Even a bitch like Ruby. It was hilarious really.

Ever since Ruby found out and Sam had been trying it out on every demon Ruby could get her hands on, the demon bitch had been shaking in her boots. Sam pretended not to notice but it was hard when Ruby would shoot him glances every time he turned his head. She was freaked out while Sam was ecstatic. Sam knew there was something awfully wrong with him to be feeling this way about powers that came from drinking demon blood–if Dean had his soul and was here with him, Sam knew he’d get an earful–but it was hard to feel anything other than excitement when you find out you could make a demon run scared just by eyeing them a certain way. It meant Sam was finally strong enough to kill Lilith. It meant Sam could put to rest this apocalypse thing once and for all.

Road tripping and hunting with his brother and father…Sam couldn’t help but think those were just practice for the real test. This. Now. Lilith and the end of the world. This was it.

Sam let out a deep breath and opened the door. Lilith was waiting for him just inside. She stopped chanting under her breath at the low creaking of the door and turned around to face Sam. She smiled as Sam watched her from just outside the room. His heart was hammering inside his chest and his hands were balled up in fists. This woman…this bitch was Lilith.

Sam’s right hand shot up quickly and Lilith was lifted in the air by an unseen force. He squeezed her neck, watching her choke. Ruby was quietly telling him to keep going, “Kill her, Sam. Don’t let her break the last seal. Come on, if you do this, you’ll be seen as a hero.”

Sam squeezed and squeezed. Lilith was slowly dying. Sam could see that. He slammed her down to the ground as he continued to choke the life out of her. “What’s…the matter, Sammy? Losing…juice?” Lilith croaked as Sam stopped. “All bark and no…bite. That’s what you Winchesters are.”

Annoyed Sam squeezed harder. Lilith cried out in pain. Blood spewed out of her mouth and dribbled down her chin. _Die, just die_ , Sam thought. Then a light exploded in Lilith’s body and Lilith’s head lolled to the side lifelessly. Sam collapsed to his knees feeling utterly drained.

Ruby rushed inside, her face alight with glee. “You did it, Sam. God, I can’t believe you actually did it.” Something was wrong with her voice. She sounded ecstatic Sam killed Lilith. But there was a hint of awe too and she wasn’t looking at him. She was looking at the weird marks on the floor and suddenly Sam was lurching back up even though he felt like he could sleep for a week now. 

He stumbled over to where Ruby stood. Lilith’s blood was oozing down to cover the line drawn on the ground and something was just wrong about all this. Sam looked up to Ruby. “No! Why is it still happening? We stopped her. I…I killed her!”

Ruby smiled down at him. “I know. Isn’t that just great, Sam? You’ll be in his good graces then. You can ask him for anything and he’ll just…give it to you because you freed him.” She looked at him slyly. “You can even ask for your brother.”

“What?” Sam asked. “I…no. Ruby, I killed her. I stopped her from breaking the last seal.”

“She was the last seal, Sammy,” Ruby said.

“No! She wasn’t!” Sam said desperately. “I was stopping the apocalypse. I was supposed to…”

Ruby just shook her head and turned to watch as the door to the cage opened. “Look, Sam, isn’t it beautiful?”

No it wasn’t. Nothing was beautiful about the Devil letting loose. Sam had to get out of here. He stumbled to the door but before he could get through the door slammed shut. Sam pulled on the door but it was useless. He slumped down in frustration. A white light engulfed the entire room and Sam, out of habit, squeezed his eyes shut. He could hear Ruby’s scream over the roar of wind.

 

 

When Sam opened his eyes, he wasn’t sure where he was. He looked around him. He wasn’t back at the Convent. He was in a white room. There were no doors or windows. The only thing in the room as far as he could tell was a red carpet under his feet.

“We’re actually in your noggin,” came a very familiar voice near him.

Sam turned back around to see…himself in front of him. He didn’t know what to say. The other Sam nodded at Sam’s perplexity. “It’s what happens when you get hit on the head pretty hard. You develop a concussion. It comes with some mad hallucinations.”

Sam blinked at his double. “So, what? You’re a hallucination?”

“Sorta. I’m actually…more your soul than anything,” the other Sam said.

“So I’m really unconscious right now in that room…how do I wake up?” Sam asked. Because he was sure with the way Ruby screamed, she was dead. The room was locked. And if Sam couldn’t wake up he’d die from starvation. And that wasn’t exactly how Sam envisioned dying.

The other Sam tilted his head. “You let me in.”

“L-let you in?” Something was wrong and it wasn’t just Sam’s head. “You may not be a hallucination, but you’re also not my soul.”

The other Sam just watched him as Sam took a step back. “You’re right, Sam. I don’t know what I was thinking trying to trick you like that. Well not the ‘unconscious’ part. You really are slowly dying in that room.”

“Who are you then?” Sam asked.

“Oh come on now, Sammy. You already know who I am. Use that noggin of yours,” other Sam chuckled. 

Sam remembered the door to the cage had opened just as he lost consciousness. The bright light that consumed the room. “Lucifer,” Sam guessed.

Lucifer grinned. “Ding, ding, ding! Well give the boy a prize. I knew you could do it, Sammy.”

“Don’t call me that,” Sam snapped. “What do you want?”

“Why I thought it was obvious by now,” Lucifer said with a shrug.

“You said to ‘let’ you in…you mean in me,” Sam said. “You want to use me as a vessel.”

Lucifer nodded. “Of course. You’re my vessel, Sam. You’re special.”

“Why? Why am I your vessel? What makes me so special?” Sam asked. He didn’t understand why Yellow Eyes had chosen to feed Sam demon blood as a baby, why the Devil wanted to use Sam’s body to walk topside, Sam didn’t understand why he was suddenly feeling a flutter in his belly now, a giddiness that the world chose him over everyone else, including Dean. 

“Have you heard the story of Cain and Abel?” Lucifer asked instead of answering Sam’s questions. “Cain killed his brother. He made a deal with the Devil. And do you know what for? Power. Cain was jealous of Abel. Because Abel was special. Even the Devil could see that. Just like you, Sam. You’re the only one in the world that I want. Sure I have a couple other options to take as vessels but they’re second rate compared to you. You were…just made for me, you could say.”

Sam gulped. He could feel himself shaking. Lucifer didn’t seem to take notice. “We have a lot in common you know.” It wasn’t true. “Oh it is, Sam. We both have big brothers. Michael. Dean. Blind faith in their fathers. But we were different, weren’t we? We could see through the façade of love. We both rebelled. And we were both punished for it. There’s a darkness inside you, isn’t there? You can feel it even now. It’s the same as me, Sam.”

It was the raving of a madman but Sam couldn’t stop himself from listening. This was the Devil and as far as Sam knew, no one was ever able to resist for long.

“The angels wronged you, Sam,” Lucifer pressed. “They lied to you over and over, hid things from you. I know because I once stood in the same spot as you. I know what it feels like to be betrayed again and again.”

Sam knew he shouldn’t be considering anything Lucifer was saying. “What do you want?”

“You’ve tasted revenge once before. It felt good, didn’t it?” Lucifer asked and waited for Sam to nod. He continued, “Let me in and you’ll feel that way all the time.”

“Dean. What about Dean?” Sam asked hoarsely. “His soul is still in Hell.”

Lucifer shook his head. He looked almost like Castiel when Sam demanded the angel to swoop back in Hell and save Dean. “It’s too late to save his soul now. But I can give you the next best thing, Sam. Just let me in. Just say ‘yes’ and you have my word that no one will ever hurt you or your family again.”

Sam tilted his head. This was messed up in so many ways. But Sam had already dug himself in deep and he wasn’t seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. He looked at Lucifer. The Devil was right. Sam could see it now. They were alike. “What exactly are you planning on doing?”

Lucifer considered the question seriously. “I plan on killing Michael and the angels that happen to follow my brother. They cast me from Heaven, Sam, they cast me from my home.”

“Yeah. Okay, got that. But what about after?” Sam asked wondering when he would get his body back. “And what about…what about the humans? Like Bobby, and Rufus and Pam…and–“

“I won’t kill your precious friends but I won’t lie, there will be casualties. That’s what happens in war,” Lucifer said cutting off Sam. “I want to recreate the world, Sam. Think about it. Peace on earth. No sorrow, no hate, just utter peace.”

Sam gulped. “Yeah. That sounds nice I guess.”

“Is that a ‘yes’ Sam?” Lucifer asked gently.

“What happens to…me?” Sam asked finally.

“Peace,” Lucifer replied. “So?”

“Okay…yes then. My answer is yes.”

 

 

**End Part 2**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. I think I'll stick to the original idea of a trilogy. So we're two thirds there.


End file.
